Startup funding: India rises to 3rd globally, surpassing Germany and France with $7.7B raised in 9M 2025, but funding dip persists

Showing a sign of resilience and adaptability amid an uncertain global environment, India has ranked as the third-highest funded country globally, ahead of Germany and France, and behind only the US and UK, despite seeing a significant decline in overall startup funding in 9M 2025. India’s tech startups raised $7.7B in 9M 2025, marking a 23% decline compared to $10.1B in 9M 2024 and a 6% drop from $8.3B in 9M 2023, according to the latest ‘India Tech Funding 9M 2025’ report by market intelligence company Tracxn.

Funding trends varied across stages but there was a decline in all categories. Seed stage funding saw a total of $727M, a 39% decline compared to $1.2B in 9M 2024. Early stage funding totalled $2.7B, down 10% from $3.0B in 9M 2024, while late stage funding raised $4.3B, a 27% decline from $5.9B in 9M 2024. The report considered data from January 1, 2025, to September 22, 2025, for the report.

“What we are witnessing is a clear shift toward maturity, with rising acquisitions, steady IPO activity, and continued unicorn creation providing balanced exit pathways for founders and investors. At the same time, sectors such as enterprise applications, retail, and transportation & logistics tech are driving long-term investor confidence and fuelling India’s digital transformation. This combination of resilience in funding, momentum in exits, and strength across core sectors reinforces India’s standing as one of the most dynamic and globally competitive technology hubs,” says Neha Singh, Co-Founder of Tracxn. 

Funding rounds also decline YoY. The 9M 2025 period saw 10 $100M+ funding rounds, compared to 16 in 9M 2024 and 15 in 9M 2023. Notable rounds included Erisha E Mobility ($1B, Series D), GreenLine ($275M, Series A), Infra.Market ($222M, Series F). Some of the others included Access Healthcare and Groww. 

Among the top-performing sectors, enterprise applications received $2.3B, a 6% decrease compared to $2.5B raised in 9M 2024. Retail received $2.0B in funding, an 18% decline compared to $2.4B raised in 9M 2024. Transportation & logistics tech received $1.79B, a 17% increase compared to $1.53B raised in 9M 2024. 

In terms of exits, 110 acquisitions took place during 9M 2025, a 15% increase over 96 in 9M 2024. The largest deal was Resulticks’ $2B acquisition by Diginex. This became the highest valued acquisition in 9M 2025, followed by Magma General Insurance’s $516M acquisition by DS Group and Patanjali Ayurved. The report says enterprise applications continued to lead acquisition activity during this period, driven by demand for cloud and AI solutions. 

Among the major startup hubs, Bengaluru topped the acquisition activity with 35 deals, followed by Mumbai (19), Gurugram (11), and Delhi (9), highlighting the ongoing dominance of Tier 1 hubs. Among investors, Peak XV Partners and Elevation Capital led exits with 14 and 8 rounds, respectively. IPO activity also remained strong in the said period, with 26 companies going public in 9M 2025. 

Urban, DevX, BlueStone, and iCodex were among the notable public listings. “Real estate & construction tech and enterprise applications dominated IPO activity, with six listings each during this period, marking a shift in market readiness, while energy tech also gained momentum with five listings, reflecting rising demand for clean energy solutions,” says the report. 

There were 4 unicorns created in 9M 2025, compared to 5 in 9M 2024 and 1 in 9M 2023. India is now home to 122 unicorns, of which 22 have already exited through IPOs or acquisitions. Bengaluru continues to dominate India’s unicorn landscape, hosting 53 unicorns, followed by Gurugram (20) and Mumbai (18). 

On profitability, Zerodha stood out as the most successful unicorn, with $1.2B in revenue and $663M in profit in FY 2023–24. Bengaluru-based startups continued to dominate, accounting for 31% of total funding, followed by Delhi at 18%. LetsVenture, AngelList and Accel emerged as the top all-time investors.